


Let Go, Ageha!

by boychik



Category: The Men of Yoshiwara: Ohgiya, 逆転吉原 | Gyakuten Yoshiwara | The Men of Yoshiwara (Visual Novel)
Genre: Coming-of-age, Conversations, Courtesans, Drunken Kissing, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2020-02-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:34:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22795645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boychik/pseuds/boychik
Summary: Ageha and Asagiri share a moment at Ohgiya's coming-of-age ceremony.
Relationships: Asagiri/Ageha
Kudos: 2





	Let Go, Ageha!

It was tradition at Ohgiya to celebrate the night before the apprentices took up new roles as courtesans. The apprentices had cleaned the main hall until it sparkled. All manner of food and drink was laid out. The trickle of water provided a calming backdrop for the excited chatter of the apprentices and courtesans. Assistants plucked at shamisens and jasmine incense smoked in the corners of the decorated room as everyone ate and drank...well, mostly drank. It was getting late in the evening but the festivities were still going strong.

“Already so drunk, Ageha!” Gakuto crowed. He was red in the face himself, unusual for a man who normally kept himself as controlled as a tight wire coil.

“I can drink more!” Ageha snapped defensively, drawing a hand to his chest. “I just look this way... but I feel so great...” He couldn’t help but smile as he argued with Gakuto.

“You’ll want to be careful,” Utsusemi winked, laying a hand on Ageha’s shoulder.

“What do you mean?” Ageha asked, wide-eyed.

“He means to do it sober so you can carry out your duties.” Takigawa was very drunk.

Ageha felt his ears burning. “What on earth...!”

“To make love to women, Ageha!” Takigawa cried with laughter. “You can’t fake it, if you’re a man... especially not if you’re a courtesan. These women know...”

“It may sound crude, but he’s right, you know,” Utsusemi chimed in. “It may feel good to be drunk and easier to lose yourself in another. But it won’t produce heirs.”

Takigawa pointed a finger loosely at Ageha and lowered his gaze fiercely. “This one is supposed to be good for business! You better learn well...” he slurred.

“Enjoy your last night as an apprentice,” Utsusemi told Ageha. He stood up, Gakuto and Takigawa soon following. “We’re going outside to view the moon... do you want to come?”

“In a minute,” Ageha said. He felt too relaxed, his body humming against the inlaid table, his head pounding with its own melody.

“It’s a moon as round and pure as your heart,” Utsusemi smiled. “So don’t be too long.”

“We’ll be waiting for you,” Gakuto said. The three courtesans slid open Ohgiya’s door and went out into the garden.

“Soon you’ll be a proper courtesan,” said Asagiri, sliding in to sit beside Ageha. “You’ll know all these secrets, and more.”

Ah, Asagiri. Though Ageha had spent his youth at Ohgiya, he hadn’t spent as much time with Asagiri as he did with the other apprentices, the manager, and of course his caretakers Utsusemi and Gakuto. Ageha felt a little shy, drunk as he was, to be in the presence of such a great courtesan.

“Try this one,” Asagiri said, offering Ageha spiced sake from a gorgeous crimson cup, inlaid with intricate gold designs.

Ageha gulped it too greedily, coughing as the fiery liquid hit the back of his throat.

Asagiri laughed his bell-like laugh. “Slowly now... you remind me of myself when I was younger. Eager to drink!” He traced Ageha’s cheek with his cool fingers. Ageha burned at his touch.

“When you were younger...” Ageha repeated, dazed and intoxicated from the drink and scent and touch. “What kind of life did you have back then, Asagiri?”

Asagiri leveled back with a question of his own. “What makes you ask that, Ageha?”

Ageha flushed, pink as a rain of cherry blossoms, with the combination of drink and self-consciousness. “I want to know what kind of person Asagiri is... how you became such a perfect courtesan...”

“Perfect, you say?” Asagiri’s lips curled into a smile. “I’m flattered. But I promise I am not.”

“You _are_!” Drunken now, Ageha felt big tears pooling in his amber eyes.

“Ageha.” He heard a chuckle, then the comforting sensation of his hair being stroked. Asagiri was petting his hair, as if comforting a child. “Trust me when I say that no courtesan at Ohgiya is here because they had a happy childhood.”

His scalp felt so good. “Don’t stop, Asagiri...” Ageha couldn’t help but to lean into his touch. He squeezed his eyes shut, wet lashes leaving tiny tears on his cheeks. 

Asagiri leaned in and softly touched the wet marks from Ageha’s tears. His cheeks were like flowers wet with morning dew. “It won’t do for you to cry, Ageha.” That cool, bell-like voice again. Asagiri passed him the crimson cup. Each man took turns drinking deeply from it.

“My p-parents...” Ageha choked out. “They didn’t even want me, they left me here... how can I be a good courtesan if...” His throat tightened and he couldn’t finish. 

Asagiri was staring at him, his own face flushed from the rounds of sake. “Do you not feel loved, Ageha?”

“It’s not that I don’t...” Ageha said. “You all have been so good to me. Gakuto, Utsusemi... I wouldn’t know what to do without you all...” Ageha took another swig of sake, straight from the bottle. Asagiri gently removed the bottle from Ageha’s hands and set it on the table.

“But?” Asagiri prompted Ageha’s unspoken next words.

“But I need to master a different kind of love.” Ageha could feel his eyes welling up again, against his better instincts. “Even after all this time, being loved by everyone at Ohgiya, I still can’t do that...” Ageha reached his trembling hand toward Asagiri, who took it without hesitation.

“Let me show you how it’s done at Ohgiya.”

Asagiri smelled wonderful. Ageha closed his eyes to take in the scent, even better than the jasmine fragrance floating from the sides of the hall. Incense, and what kind of flower made up Asagiri’s perfume? He searched his brain, foggy with drink, for the answers. _Camellia, iris, rose?_ The scent overwhelmed him as Asagiri drew closer. Ageha opened his eyes only to find Asagiri’s face mere inches from his own.

“Asagiri... are you sure?”

“The best way to learn is through experience. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Asagiri’s slim fingers entwined with Ageha’s own. Ageha felt the metal ring with its chain running down Asagiri’s hand for the first time.

“Ah, so wise...” Ageha murmured, parting his lips, eager to welcome Asagiri. Ordinarily he might have felt weird, but he was drunk and in the mood for love. Ohgiya was a beautiful place full of beautiful people. It was only natural that he learn from the best.

Asagiri felt himself pushed against the wall as he drew Ageha up in a kiss. Once Ageha got started, he was overflowing with passion, bordering on aggression. Asagiri was surprised by the force of his movements as Ageha took Asagiri’s wrists in his hands and kissed his lips, cheeks, neck... It had been a long time since he had kissed a man—looking back, he hadn’t done so since he was himself an apprentice at Ohgiya.

Asagiri had not always been as self-assured as he was today, and he felt shocked and impressed by typically reserved Ageha’s burst of energy.

“These innocent lips are so hungry,” Asagiri said, his eyes uncharacteristically wide with surprise. “I wouldn’t have expected such a thing from our apprentice.”

“Please, Asagiri...” Ageha felt hot all over. His hands found Asagiri and he took his kimono in the folds of one hand, running his hand over Asagiri’s bare chest with the other. Almost immediately he snatched his hand away. “Ah! Did I offend you? I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t be doing this—”

“Ageha.” Asagiri’s voice was smooth as sake, intoxicating. “There is no should here. Do as you will.”

“There must be some rule against this...” Ageha mumbled, before returning to taste Asagiri’s lips.

“And who’s to know?” Asagiri retorted. “It’s a shame for such a beautiful place as Ohgiya to have rules against pleasure...”

 _What had stirred him?_ Asagiri wondered to himself. He was typically attracted to women, but something in Ageha’s coming-of-age must have touched him, reminded himself of how he felt back then as an apprentice. Young, earnest, and excited to experience love. Unaware of the delicacy and fragility of his own heart, yet eager to speed ahead and learn the ways of the courtesans.

Ageha’s round eyes widened as he took in the sight of Asagiri, deep in thought. He closed his eyes to fall back into the moment.

“Asagiri.”

“Mm?” Their lips on one another were sweet and slick, doused with the aftertaste of sake.

“I want to come to your room...” Ageha’s gaze was yearning. His flushed cheeks were like twin roses, blossoming before Asagiri. His pure, raw sincerity was enough to make Asagiri avert his eyes for a moment before he recovered smoothly.

“Remember Takigawa’s words.” Asagiri laughed.

 _Takigawa...?_ Drunk, Ageha’s brain moved slowly. “Ah!” He shot up in embarrassment. “I don’t mean anything like that...”

“Then what did you mean, Ageha?” Asagiri asked gently, golden eyes fixed on Ageha’s own.

Ageha clumsily tightened his fists in Asagiri’s kimono in response. “I just...” His voice dropped. “I can’t bear for you to leave me, like this, now...”

“Ageha.” Asagiri’s voice, fresh and cool like a spring stream. “I’m going to tell you something very important.”

“M’kay...” Ageha mumbled.

“Don’t confuse this for love.”

“What?” Ageha’s head shot up.

“You heard me,” Asagiri said. “All our work here, while it may have long-term effects... for us, it is only temporary. When you kiss someone, make love to them, hold them in your arms... it may feel like love, but it’s not.” His golden eyes were boring into Ageha. “Do you understand?”

Ageha felt weak, incoherent, blood rushing from his head. “It’s not fair...”

“It’s the life of a courtesan,” Asagiri said simply. He stood up and extended a hand to Ageha. “Now come. I’ll take you back to your quarters.”

Emboldened by drink, Ageha whined in a way he never otherwise would at Ohgiya. “I don’t want to go!”

“Ageha,” Asagiri said calmly. “If you want to succeed at Ohgiya, you’ll have to learn to let go. Come with me.”

“Don’t torment me...” Ageha whined. His eyes fluttered open and shut, as though he could not choose what perspective he wanted to take.

“If this is torture, Yoshiwara will be the end of you.” Was Asagiri’s smile encouraging him or mocking him? Ageha could not tell. Either way, it was dazzling.

Both of Asagiri’s arms were reaching for him now. Trembling, Ageha stood up. His head rolled in waves of alcohol. He was woozy. _Not love? Let go? What did Asagiri mean, saying these words?_ He took Asagiri’s hands in his and stood up.

“Come, Ageha,” Asagiri said warmly. “Let’s view the moon. The others must be waiting.” Embarrassed but sincere, Ageha followed him out to the courtyard, tugging at the hem of Asagiri’s colorful sleeve. Only when they reached the garden did he drop his hold on Asagiri’s clothes and look up at the sky. The cold air came as a shock when Asagiri opened the sliding door to the courtyard.

 _How do I know what it means to let go?_ Gazing at the moon, Ageha wished he could begin to understand what Asagiri meant. _Is this what it means to let go...? Look at the full moon and try to forget what’s just happened?_ He sat on a small bench, wishing for answers, but none came.

After a time, he dropped the line of questioning. It was enough of a pain sober, let alone drunk. Ageha simply looked into the open sky, stars shining like opals. Letting go was for the Ageha of tomorrow to decide. Tonight, he would hold on fiercely to what he knew of love and memory.


End file.
